October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 36

LAW REVIEW
Plaintiffs claimed they had been
banned from Asheville (North
Carolina) city parks in violation of the
First and Fourteenth Amendment of
the U.S. Constitution in the case of
Norris v. City of Asheville.
Is a Three-Year Park Access Ban for
Littering Constitutional?
By James C. Kozlowski, J.D., Ph.D.
I
n the case of Norris v. City of Asheville, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52902
(W.D. N.C. 3/25/2024), Plaintiffs claimed they had been banned
from Asheville city parks in violation of the First and Fourteenth
Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
The Plaintiffs included a number
of current and former residents of
Ashville, North Carolina, who, in
various ways, all had been involved
in providing
assistance, such as
meals, to Asheville's homeless population.
In January 2022, Plaintiffs
were charged with felony littering
under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-399 in
connection with their participation
in December 2021 protests in city
parks that advocated for Ashville
to allow sanctuary camping for
people experiencing homelessness.
Under North Carolina state law,
any person who commits littering " in
an amount exceeding 500 pounds or
in any quantity for commercial purposes,
or who discards litter that is a
hazardous waste " is guilty of a felony.
As cited by the federal district court,
" littering " would occur under North
Carolina state law when a person
or entity " intentionally or recklessly
throws, scatters, spills or places or intentionally
or recklessly causes to be
blown, scattered, spilled, thrown or
placed or otherwise disposes of any
litter upon any public property or private
property not owned by the per36
Parks & Recreation | O CTOBER 2 0 2 4 | PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
son, " except when the litter is deposited
in a space designated for litter (like
a dump or garbage receptacle). N.C.
Gen. Stat. § 14-399(a).
In March 2022, several of the
Plaintiffs started receiving notices,
effective December 25, 2021, that
they had been banned from all city
park and recreation facilities for a
period of three years based on their
felony littering charges. These notices
were issued pursuant to the
City of Asheville's " Restricted Access
to City Parks " administrative
policy (the Policy). The Policy provided
that a person's access to city
parks may be restricted if the person
violates a city ordinance, park
rule or recreation program rule, as
well as a state or federal law.

October 2024 – Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2024 – Parks & Recreation

October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - Intro
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - Cover1
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - Cover2
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 1
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 2
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 3
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 4
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 5
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 6
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 7
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 8
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 9
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 10
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 11
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 12
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 13
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 14
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 15
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 16
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 17
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 18
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 19
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 20
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 21
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 22
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 23
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 24
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 25
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 26
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 27
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 28
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 29
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 30
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 31
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 32
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 33
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 34
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 35
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 36
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 37
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 38
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 39
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 40
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 41
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 42
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 43
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 44
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 45
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 46
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 47
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 48
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 49
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 50
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 51
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 52
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 53
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 54
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 55
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 56
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 57
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 58
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 59
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 60
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 61
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 62
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 63
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 64
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 65
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 66
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 67
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 68
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 69
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 70
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 71
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 72
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 73
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 74
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 75
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 76
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 77
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 78
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 79
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 80
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - Cover3
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - Cover4
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2021
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com